French Open: Alexander Zverev before the big Grand Slam breakthrough?

Alexander Zverev finally wants to celebrate his breakthrough at the French Open on Grand Slam level. The 21-year-old is the great German hopeful in Paris and, after Rafael Nadal, the hottest contender for victory.

Alexander Zverev has had enough. Enough of the early disappointments at Grand Slam tournaments, the bitter lessons in the life of a young tennis pro and the comforting words of competitors who assure that his time will come. At the French Open from Sunday in Paris, the 21-year-old finally wants to prove at the major level that he has long since become world class. The omens for this have rarely been so good.

Zverev is the hottest contender for victory in Roland Garros behind record champion Rafael Nadal. No one has won more matches this year than the young star from Hamburg and especially on clay he has recently presented himself in outstanding form. Zverev celebrated 13 victories in a row in May, winning the titles in Munich and at the Masters in Madrid and only narrowly lost to Nadal in the final in Rome.

The reward: As the first German since Boris Becker came to Wimbledon in 1996, he is number two at a Grand Slam tournament, is clearly the focus of the German squad in Paris. The only question mark remains his almost enigmatically weak record at the four biggest tournaments worldwide. So far, the third in the world rankings has seen the 2017 round in Wimbledon as the best result.

The causes are probably mainly to be found in the mental area. “I have to find out why. Maybe I’m putting too much pressure on Grand Slams,” Zverev recently analyzed himself. For Germany’s tennis icon Becker, the major disappointments so far are part of a completely normal development. “You just need a certain routine, concentration, rhythm. This is harder for 20-year-olds than for 30-year-olds,” he said.

But because Zverev is much more stable this year than last year, the time seems ripe for his breakthrough at Grand Slam level. The draw with the Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis gave him a favorable opening draw. It could be tricky from the round of sixteen, where a duel with ex-Paris champion Stan Wawrinka from Switzerland is imminent and a round later will probably be waiting for Austria’s great hopeful Dominic Thiem.

Meanwhile, German women’s hopes rest on Julia Görges and Angelique Kerber. However, after a strong start to the season, the German double lead, currently number eleven and twelve in the world, was a little out of breath due to minor injuries. In Kerber’s case, sand will probably never become her favourite surface. She hasn’t won a match in Paris since 2015.

Nevertheless, Kerber’s ambitions are great. “Their goal is to one day be number one again and deal with it differently than last year,” said Kerbers Belgian coach Wim Fissette before the start of the tournament. The two-time Grand Slam winner will start her German duel with Mona Barthel, while Görges awaits Slovak Dominika Cibulkova.

SID pc ma